Health insurance rant.

[cmjust0]

Every FREAKIN year they 'adjust' our insurance coverage at my work. Right now, to cover my wife and me, it's costing $153.13/paycheck and that's only half the premium. The company pays the other half.. If you do the math, that means the total premium is $663.56 to cover TWO PEOPLE.

Ridiculous...we're in our early 30's, and we don't have kids. If we did, well, that would mean we'd have to do the "Family" plan, and the total monthly premium would be $1011.14...of which we'd have to pay half.

Anyway, currently, we have a $20 copay on a regular office visit, and $20 for a specialist.. In/Out-patient is "deductable + 20%".. ER costs $150 + 20%.. Urgent care centers are $50. Scrips are $10, $25, or $40, depending on what 'tier' they're in.. Deductables were $250 for "individuals" and $500 for "family" -- though I've yet to figure out exactly how that works.

Ok, so the new plan...

...regular office visit is still $20, but a specialist is now $50. In/Outpatient is still "deductable + 20%" -- but the deductable goes from $250 to $500 for "individuals" and from $500 to $1,500 for "family"! ER is now $200 instead of $150, and you still gotta pay the 20%.. Urgent care goes from $50 to $75. Scrips...$10 generics are the same, but 2nd teir is now $30, and 3rd teir is $60.. But wait, there's more!...now there's a 4th tier what's 25% w/ a max of **$150** out of pocket! We currently have at least one $40 tier 3 scrip, soooo...is it gonna move to tier 4?!? Hope not, I guess..

Best part? My rate actually INCREASED by a little over $20/mo.

Icing on the cake? WE DIDN'T GET RAISES LAST YEAR.

 

[WriterofWords]

Yep,, ours went up, our pay went down, the coverage sucks. Oh and I'm supposed to be happy to have insurance,, some would LOVE to have my insurance..... until they are in our shoes right?

 

[NYboy]

I am self employed, 45 single and live in NY. My Oxford health insurance is $799. a month. I'm sure it will go up again soon.

 

[WriterofWords]

I know, when I was self-employed I expected to foot the bill, that is part of being self-employed and it was my choice as to how much my deductible would be, my copays etc,, and how much my premium would be for what I chose. Now that I'm with a school District and have no choice in my deductible's and such, and I pay almost $400 a month anyway for my son and I,, it's really upsetting.

 

[hughmac312]

I've come to believe in the real "Axis of Evil"

The FDA, Health Care Industry, and Health Insurance Industry.

Think about it, the FDA approves food additives that they no nothing about how it affects people.

Corn syrup is poison, obesity, diabetes, cancer...
Food colors
Antibiotics in meat, milk, and other food supplies

Genetic modification of food and produce what will their affect be on people, we don't know.

Then, the health care industry gets to treat all the people that are poisoned by the same people that
produce the poisonous food. And the FDA oversees the health care industry. Oh, and you have to take
medicine also "approved" by the FDA. But quite often the "approved medicine" can cause just as much harm
and you have to take medicine to counteract the other medicine. Are you all getting the picture here?

Then Health Insurance gets to charge whatever it wants because people don't want to be sick and die.
Things can be repaired and made almost new again, e.g. a car. People can't, yet you have an "insurance"
industry that claims it can do just that, if you are willing to pay the money.

I've stopped paying for health insurance, if I get sick and die, so be it. I'll be a 21st pioneer facing the hardships
of my trail through life, and doing the best I can.

So long as corporate executives are being paid the obscene sums of money they make it will never be reformed.

 

[CityChicker]

I am 39 and have a private pay policy. My premium is $450 per month (just for me). My office copay is $25 and my prescription copay varies up to $60 depending on the drug. Unfortunately, I have dealt with life threatening illness the last couple years so my health care costs have skyrocketed out of control. Just between my insurance premiums and prescription copays, I pay out about a $1,000 per month and am in serious danger of losing my insurance all together. To top it all off, my insurance hasn't even covered some of my surgeries! They have used every excuse possible to get out of paying, especially for my reconstructive surgeries. I have had three surgeries that I have had to take out loans for and pay for out of pocket to the tune of almost $100,000. The payments on those were totaling about another $500 per month, but my MIL stepped in and payed off a lot of it, for which I can't tell you how grateful I am.

It is just wrong. No person in this country should have to live through this, ESPECIALLY when they pay hundreds of dollars in insurance premiums. Insurance is supposed to be exactly that "insurance" that you are protected against the financial cost of getting sick. What these companies do is dirty, unscrupulous thieving basically. It really gets me down to even think about so I generally bypass these threads altogether.

 

[bantamamba]

I agree ^^

I also wanted to add, somewhat off topic (but not really), that my mother's SO was denied coverage for when a piano dropped on his hand because they said it was a "pre-existing condition".

My younger French friend still raises an eyebrow whenever she hears of how health insurance is handled in this country.

Very sorry to hear of your troubles, cmjust10...

 

[technodoll]

I'm so happy to be Canadian...

 

[For-The-Love-Of-Chickens]

Quote:
I agree with you! If I die, I die. It was my time and no amount of "modern" medicine is going to change that. We spend billions and billions of dollars trying to prevent the inevitable! Not one of those dollars has PREVENTED a death.

I spent $15000 out of pocket two years ago for medical tests because I started having severe digestive issues. Fifteen grand later and they told me there was nothing wrong with me! NOTHING WRONG! I lost 20 pounds in three weeks, couldn't eat anything, and spent most of my day in the bathroom for two months. I have never lost faith in our medical system so fast. We drained our savings just before DH lost his job. We now make 1/3 of what we made before and have no way to put that money back.

We still carry catastrophic insurance for our family through my hubby's job. Our family deductible that has to be met before we will see a dime of insurance money is ten grand, then we still pay 20%. For this "peace of mind" we pay $170 a month, up $40 from last year. DH didn't get a raise last year either. I'm self-employed and that insurance is a joke too, especially when I am just starting out and trying to build a business.

 

[NurseELB]

IMO it's only going to get worse while the new "system" gets worked out. I'm afraid to find another job because I'd lose my seniority, and I and my coworkers all see layoffs coming if we go to government subsidized healthcare. Layoffs because the hospital can't afford the staff, and then we'll be expected to handle more patients at a time.
I only see more clouds on the horizon. Hoping in the long run (talking 20 years here, folks) that it'll all work out. Doctors, hospitals (CEOs and admins) will have to be willing to receive less money and society will have to accept paying more in co-pays and premiums in the mean time.
I agree it's out of controll right now, I just can't see it getting better any time soon.

To the OP- same situation here, less money this year, higher premium and copay. (AND I don't get an employee discount

)

Once again, my OPINION only, not trying to start a debate, just want to provide a perspective as one IN healthcare)